It's possible to create Windows 7 recovery disc by thljcl - 6/11/10 5:30 PM In reply to: Can I create my own Windows 7 recovery disc without all the bloatware? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator <http://forums.cnet.com/5208-19411_102-0.html?messageID=3320466> You will need one CD and one or more DVDs. Reinstall Windows 7 with the recovery partition. Don't install any softares just yet. Uninstall all the softwares that are preinstalled in your PC. Search for 'backup' in Start menu. Select 'Backup and Restore' under 'Programs'. On the left side, select 'Create System Image'. You will have two options here: 'On a hard disk' and 'On One or More DVDs'. Select 'On One or More DVDs'. You will have to choose which drive to backup. Since you are going to create your own recovery disc, you only have to backup the drive with Windows 7 installed and other drives that you cannot opt out. After the backup process complete, it will ask you if you want create system repair disc. Put a CD in your DVD burner. You can then proceed to create system repair disc. Then you are done. There are several ways that you can reinstall your Windows. Of course, you can always use the Windows 7 installation Disc. But doing so you must backup the activation file first. After reinstalling the Windows 7, you can restore the activation file so that your Windows will be activated. You can download the tool here: <http://cid-7be8c4ce2107619b.office.live.com/browse.aspx/Public/Softwares/Activation%20Backup%20%5E0%20Restore> and <http://www.cockle.us/download/ActivationTool/>. You can also use the Windows 7 recovery Discs that you created yourself. If you can still enter Windows 7, press F8 repeatedly before your Windows starts. You will have an option to recover your hard drive from the recovery discs you created yourself. If you cannot enter Windows 7, boot from System Repair Disc instead. Hope this will help you. --------------------------- Windows 7 Without Bloatware by JDK52 - 6/11/10 6:00 PM In reply to: Can I create my own Windows 7 recovery disc without all the bloatware? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator Hi Rick- Try this: First, strip off any bloatware and unwanted applications-go to strictly bare-bones. Back up your system using the Windows 7 DVD option. CREATE a system repair disc. Wipe your computer clean with KillDisc. Insert the repair disc. Wait for the prompt the insert your backup dics. Worked great for me. (HPIQ508 Win7 Untlmate.) ---------------------------  Use the Official MS Windows 7 ISO image to make a Disk by charleswsheets - 6/11/10 8:04 PM In reply to: Can I create my own Windows 7 recovery disc without all the bloatware? by Lee Koo (ADMIN) Moderator Hi Rick, Of the thousands of Operating Systems we reload for one reason or another, we seldom use the factory supplied disks for re-installation for the very reasons you have sited. Instead we use an OEM installation disk. Of course, you'll have to have a valid License Key from Microsoft if you're faced with re-installing the operating system. The only official site I'm aware of that provides these ISO image downloads is Digital River, and you can download them directly to your desktop. First, you'll need to have a program installed like NERO that will recognize an ISO file, and burn it to a DVD for you. When you do this, make certain that you tell the burning program to verify the data burned to the disk. You don't want to be faced with a system crash and a re-install disk with errors on it. You'll also need to be sure you're downloading the proper ISO image. There are different images for 32 Bit and 64 Bit installations, and there are different ISO images for Windows 7 Home Premium, Pro, and Ultimate. I've included below the two images for Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit, and 64 Bit below. If you're using Pro or Ultimate, you'll need to try this link to find your download: <http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/11/10/windows-7-iso-x86-and-x64-official-dire ct-download-links-ultimate-professional-and-home-premium/> For Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit, download this: <http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65732/X15-65732.iso> Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit download this: <http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65733/X15-65733.iso> These are legal downloads and are intended to allow legally licensed users with valid installation keys to re-load their original operating system. YOU MUST HAVE A VALID LICENSE KEY to use these installation disks. One other thing you should remember is that you'll want to back up your drivers. There are numerous products out there that can do this, and it will save you a ton of time if/when the time comes to re-load your operating system. I use a little program called CSharp Driver Backup which you should be able to find easily with a Google search. This will allow you to reload your system from a Windows 7 Disk and dispense with all of the bloatware usually found on new computers. You should also remember that if there are utilities other than drivers that you enjoy using that came installed on your new computer, they will not be installed with the Windows 7 disk. You will have to go back to the manufacturers website and download them. You can usually find these in the manufacturer's website under the downloads area for your particular model of computer. Just a helpful hint; if you want a complete backup of all of the items mentioned, you should locate the drivers and software you would want to keep now, and store them on a disk or USB Flash drive and store them where they won't get lost. If you're really want to save space, get yourself an 8GB Flash drive and learn how to store the ISO image mentioned earlier, right along with the drivers and downloaded software accessories, and you'll have a complete set capable of reloading everything you want. Hope this is helpful for you Rick (Win7_RecoveryDisk.htm)